Putin Allows Rocket Legend to Retire

Putin Allows Rocket Legend to Retire

President Vladimir Putin has finally allowed Anatoly Kiselyov to retire from the
Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center, Russia's leading space
enterprise, 26 years after becoming director of its predecessor, a presidential
spokesman said Wednesday.

Putin issued an edict Tuesday installing the 64-year-old Kiselyov`s protege,
Alexander Medvedev, a head of the Moscow-based center, which manufactures the
best-selling heavy Proton booster rockets used to launch communication
satellites into high orbit.

Kiselyov submitted his resignation to Putin twice last year, citing poor health.
Both times Putin failed to respond to the request.

According to the state-owned center`s charter, only the Russian president can
dismiss or appoint its director.

Khrunichev is a partner of the U.S.-Russian International Launch Services, or
ILS, joint venture.

While awaiting permission from Putin to step down, Kiselyov aggressively
promoted Medvedev`s candidacy, while indirectly criticizing other potential
candidates, such as Alexei Ogaryov, the former head of the now-defunct
Rosvooruzheniye arms export monopoly.

Medvedev`s appointment was welcomed by his co-workers at the center, which is
recovering from a drop in sales resulting from an agreement with the U.S.
government ≈ which expired Dec. 31, 2000 ≈ that limited the number of U.S.-made
satellites launched by Russian rockets.

The U.S.-imposed launch quota seriously damaged Khrunichev`s launch business.
Only three launches had been scheduled for this year before the U.S.
administration announced it would let the agreement expire.

Since the ban was lifted, however, the five-year- old ILS venture has contracted
to launch two cable television satellites belonging to Luxembourg-based Societe
Europeenne des Satellites later this year.

Commerical Proton launches are priced at around $70 million each, but are
heavily discounted for the Defense Ministry and the Russian Aviation and Space
Agency, according to a former Khrunichev official.

By Simon Saradzhyan /Moscow Times/
www.avia.ru